A Child At Heart??

Although both the film and the play define Stanley Kowalski as masculine and domineering, certain parts of the scenes in the play also allows an alternative understanding of him. From parts of the readings of scenes three and four, the readers are able to see that the alternative characteristic of Stanley is that of a child. Throughout the play, we see that Stanley and Stella’s relationship illustrates the male dominating dynamics of society at the time. However, at certain parts of the play, we can also see that Stanley plays a child like role while Stella plays the mother like role. For example, in scene three Stanley remorseful calls out to “Stell-lahhhh!” (1562) after he realizes that he has abused her. Before this, the events of the violence against Stella when he was drunk once again show readers the dominating image of Stanley exercising his masculinity. However, during this scene where he runs outside and calls for his wife, Stanley can be seen as a boy who just realizes that he has done something bad and it has cause his mother like figure to abandon him. Stanley character can be interpret as a boy who tends to behave badly but when his behavior drives his care taker away, he feels lost and hopeless as he looks for her. Furthermore, his child like characteristics can be seen more when Blanche arrives and tries to persuade Stella to leave Stanley in scene four after Blanche witness Stanley striking Stella. As Blanche eagerly convinces Stella to leave Stanley, he comes back and overhears their conversation. However, at the end of the scene, “Stella has embraced him with both arms, fiercely, and full in the view of Blanche. He laughed and clasps her head to him. Over her head he grins through the curtains at Blanche” (1568). Stanley’s taunting acts toward Blanch further illustrates a childish character because it illustrates how Stanley feels satisfy that Stella still embraces him even after Blanche’s entire attempt to persuade her to leave him. As he laughs at Blanche in the end, Stanley illustrates his child like nature of winning the attention and adoration of the mother like figure, which in this case is Stella. Thus, these parts of the scenes in the play enables readers to find an alternative reading of Stanley’s character instead of the domineering brute that is clearly depicted throughout the play.